The Delaware Valley Ornithological Club (DVOC) is the organization for birders and bird enthusiasts in the Delaware Valley region.
All who have an interest in birds are invited to attend functions of the DVOC.

Presentation on the biology of bluebirds and the habitat necessary for attracting them and conserving them.

Betsy Nutt is a member of the speakers’ bureau of the Bluebird Society of Pennsylvania and is Penn State Master Gardener volunteer. Many generations of Betsy’s family have been involved with bird study and conservation. Her eldest son is a Master falconer. She and her husband have always loved bluebirds and have established a bluebird trail on their small farm in Blue Bell. There they raise Romney sheep, have an orchard, many kinds of berries, a vegetable garden that sustains them for the year with frozen produce, and perennial flower gardens throughout the property. With an emphasis on the importance of native plants, Betsy is delighted to share with us her love for her birds and gardens. Her presentation will discuss the biology of bluebirds and the habitat necessary for attracting them and conserving them.

February 25th and March 4th Meet Martin Selzer at 5:30 pm at Houston Playground (900 Graykin Avenue) to experience the sounds and sights of the Timberdoodle. Come on one or both walks. There will be no weather dates. Contact Martin if the weather is questionable on either evening.

BirdPhilly is an initiative of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club. Founded in 1890, the DVOC has been based at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia since 1891. The DVOC runs fields trips throughout the tri-state region, however BirdPhilly focuses on trips within in Philadelphia city limits in collaboration with Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and the Fairmount Park Conservancy.

Through BirdPhilly our goal is to increase interest and awareness of Philadelphia’s birds by providing quality birding experiences on expertly guided field trips. All field trips are free unless the site charges an admission fee. These trips are open to children, adults, and well behaved pets. BirdPhilly also participates in DVOC’s Philadelphia Bird Race to raise funds for conservation and research projects.

The club enthusiastically welcomes new members – young people, beginners and anyone else who is genuinely interested in birding. Members benefit from the wealth of information and expertise that this club offers. The bi-annual club journal, Cassinia, is provided to members.

Birding

The Delaware Valley is the name given to the region that lays on either side of the Delaware River, centered on Philadelphia. This consists of southeastern Pennsylvania, central and southern New Jersey and the state of Delaware. Tell me more…

In Pennsylvania;
Berks County, Bucks County, Chester County, Delaware County, Lancaster County, Lebanon County, Lehigh County, Montgomery County, Northampton County and Philadelphia County.

In New Jersey;
Atlantic County, Burlington County, Camden County, Cape May County, Cumberland County, Gloucester County, Hunterdon County, Mercer County, Middlesex County, Monmouth County, Ocean County, Salem County, Somerset County and Warren County.

In Delaware;
New Castle County, Kent County and Sussex County

DVOC Flickr Page

Want to see and share photos of Delaware Valley birds? Check out our Flickr page.

Notable Nearby E-Bird Sightings

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DVOC Initiatives

BirdPhilly is an initiative of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club. Founded in 1890, the DVOC has been based at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia since 1891. The DVOC runs fields trips throughout the tri-state region, however BirdPhilly focuses on trips within in Philadelphia city limits in collaboration with Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and the Fairmount Park Conservancy.

Through BirdPhilly our goal is to increase interest and awareness of Philadelphia’s birds by providing quality birding experiences on expertly guided field trips. All field trips are free unless the site charges an admission fee. These trips are open to children, adults, and well behaved pets. BirdPhilly also participates in DVOC’s Philadelphia Bird Race to raise funds for conservation and research projects.

New Bins for New Birders (NB4NB)

Partnering with DVOC’s World Series of Birding Team’s corporate sponsor, Nikon Sport Optics, NB4NB is committed to supplying new, serviceable binoculars to organizations that expose young people to birding and the outdoors. We focus on those organizations that are local to the Delaware Valley Region: southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware.

Each year the DVOC raises money for our Conservation Fund. Most of the funds are raised as part of the DVOC’s participation in NJ Audubon’s World Series of Birding but other donations are certainly accepted. All funds collected in a calendar year are distributed to one or more organizations recommended by the Conservation Committee and approved by Council. For further information on donating – conservation@dvoc.org

You can quickly and easily make a donation using PayPal. Click the “Donate” button above to do this. If you have a Paypal Account please log in. If you do not, use the “Don’t have a PayPal account?” section in the lower left hand corner of the page that appears after you click the “Donate” button below.

The DVOC is a 501(c)(3) organization.
Contributions to DVOC are tax-deductible.

Over the years See Life's trips have turned up a number of pelagic discoveries including rarities, high counts, identification tips, habitat requirements, and behavioral traits. This program explores a range of these discoveries in the Mid-Atlantic pelagic region. Examples include rarities like Western Gull and Fea's petrel. Birds like Band-rumped Storm-Petrels, once considered to be incredibly rare in our area, turn out to be regular and even expected in the right areas at the right time of year. Dovekies have a highly specialized requirement for feeding that makes them generally easy to find. Don't expect a dry, data driven presentation, do expect a lot of photos, and do expect a fair share of not so serious moments.

This meeting will be held in the BEES classroom.

Paul Guris has been birding since age 12 which is longer ago than he cares to admit. His first boat trip on salt water was in his mother's third trimester. He ...

Matthew Halley, editor of the DVOC's Cassinia publication, has been studying the behavior and evolution of nightingale-thrushes (genus Catharus) since 2011, and they are now the focus of his PhD dissertation at Drexel University and the Academy of Natural Sciences. Catharus is best known for its champion migrants — Swainson's Thrush, Gray-cheeked Thrush, and the Veery — but the greatest diversity in the genus actually lives in the Neotropics year-round, where they remain poorly known to scientists and birders alike. Matthew's research challenges many aspects of our understanding, including how many species of nightingale-thrushes there are, how and why they behave the way they do, and how they achieved their current distributions.